Eurasian Dotterel Eudromias morinellus Scientific name definitions

20–22 cm; male 86–116 g, female 99–142 g; wingspan 57–64 cm. Bulky plover, with reversed sexual dimorphism in size and plumage; unmistakable in breeding dress; long white supercilia meet in “V” on nape; narrow white breastband separates grey throat and upper breast from bright chestnut lower breast . Female (which averages slightly larger) (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ) more brightly colored than male , with blacker and more solid crown and belly; breastband sharper than in male. Note that not all adults can be sexed, due to existence of some birds showing somewhat intermediate characters (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ). Non-breeding adult lacks bright colors, and has supercilia brownish buff; upperparts fringed buff or sandy; pale gray-brown breast with dull white bar; belly white. Juvenile shows greater contrast than non-breeding adult, with darker feathers and brighter fringes (sometimes broken by brown shaft-streaks) (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ), and more buffish-cinnamon on underparts, with streaked flanks, buffish-white breast line and white belly washed buffish (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ) First-winter retains some juvenile scapulars and tertials (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ), while first-summer acquires variable number of dark belly feathers (2 Chandler, R. (2009). Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere. Christopher Helm, London. Close ). Despite vast and discontinuous breeding range no indication of subspeciation; this is in accordance both with limited faithfulness to breeding sites, which may be due to mixing in winter quarters, and with erratic breeding in Europe.

The species has been previous placed in genus Charadrius, and was earlier thought possibly quite closely related to some or all of Caspian Plover (Anarhynchus asiaticus), Oriental Plover (Anarhynchus veredus), Mountain Plover (Anarhynchus montanus) and Rufous-chested Dotterel (Zonibyx modestus), but genetic data (3 Baker, A. J., S. L. Pereira, and T. A. Paton (2007). Phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of Charadriiformes genera: multigene evidence for the Cretaceous origin of at least 14 clades of shorebirds. Biology Letters 3(2):205–209. Close ) indicate that placement in a separate monotypic genus is appropriate. Monotypic.

Northern Britain through Scandinavia and northern Siberia to Chukotskiy Peninsula, and northeastern Kazakhstan and northwestern China (extreme northwestern Xinjiang) east through southern Siberia and northern Mongolia to southeastern Russia. Eurasian Dotterel is irregularly distributed in the Pyrenees, Alps, and Carpathians, and also sporadically elsewhere in Europe, Caucasus and northwestern Alaska, and even once on Spitsbergen. The species winters in northern Africa and the Middle East east to western Iran.

Breeds on extensive, open, flat uplands, mountain ridges, and plateaux, with sparse vegetation of moss, short grass or lichens and bare patches of rock, in Arctic tundra and Arctic-alpine zone; not particularly near water. During the breeding season, the species has been recorded to at least 2,720 m in the Pyrenees (4 Gutierrez Benitez, R., Muntaner, O. and Figuerola, J. (1996). Primeres dades de cria confirmada de Corriol Pit-Roig Charadrius morinellus al Pirineu espanyol. Alauda. 64(2): 268–269. Close ). On migration, it stages in exposed areas with some short vegetation, heathland, fallow, or plowed land, but also flax or pea crops (5 Legendre, F. (2002). Le passage migratoire du Pluvier guignard Charadrius morinellus en France (18395-295951). Ornithos. 9(4): 138–151. Close ) (among others), often returning to the same sites annually. Non-breeding grounds are less well known, but include stony steppe, plowed farmlands, semi-desert, including marginal cultivation and shrubby steppe, and the species has been recorded to at least 1,600 m in northern Africa (6 Lieron, V., Fontaine, O., Caron, S., Le Nuz, E., Orhant, N., Rautereau, P. and Hingrat, Y. (2007). Contribution à la connaissance de l’avifaune de l’Oriental marocain. Notes sur quelques espèces caractéristiques des steppes. Go-South Bull.. 4: 1–5. Close ).

Migratory, in broad front across Europe, staging at a few, often traditional, sites. Many probably migrate non-stop, especially in autumn. At this season, females usually precede juveniles and males by 2–4 weeks, and they also tend to return first to breeding grounds. Birds depart Scottish Highlands in first half of August, Siberia from late August to early September; passage western Europe mid August to mid October (with stragglers until November) (5 Legendre, F. (2002). Le passage migratoire du Pluvier guignard Charadrius morinellus en France (18395-295951). Ornithos. 9(4): 138–151. Close ); some birds stage in Alps at altitude of 2,000–3,000 m or on crest of Jura Mts at 1,600 m; many stage to molt in northern Caspian region, migrating further south until early November; arrive in winter grounds from early September. Spring migration begins late February to March, passing western Europe mid April to mid May and Ukraine mid March to late April; returns to breeding grounds in Scotland early May, southern Scandinavia mid to late May, and Lapland and northern Russia late May to mid June. Numbers recorded on passage through some countries fluctuate quite widely, e.g., in British Isles between 1986 and 1990 annual maxima peaked at 598, with smallest total 215 (7 Fraser, P. A., and J. F. Ryan (1992). Scarce migrants in Britain and Ireland. Part 1. Numbers during 1986-91: seabirds to waders. British Birds 85(12):631–635. Close ), while in France 1192 and 1136 were recorded in 2003 and 2004 (8 Legendre, F., G. Olioso, and le CMR (2012). Les observations d’oiseaux migrateurs rares en France. 7e rapport du CMR (année 2008). Ornithos 19(2):81–121. Close ), respectively, versus an annual mean of 251 in 1998–2002 (9 Legendre, F. (2004). Passage remarquable du Pluvier guignard Charadrius morinellus en France à l'automne 298983. Ornithos. 11(1): 24–29. Close ), and at least in northern England pattern of spring passage has changed since 19th century, with uplands increasingly preferred by staging birds (10 Strowger, J. (1998). The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in northern England during 1972–95. Bird Study. 45(1): 85–91. Close ). Like most long-range migrant shorebirds, vagrants recorded far and wide: in North America, in Hawaii and continental western USA (e.g. California and Washington) south to northern Mexico (2 Chandler, R. (2009). Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere. Christopher Helm, London. Close ), in Atlantic Ocean on Bermuda, Iceland, Faeroes, Madeira and Canary Is , as well as in Japan and on Bear I (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ). During migration sometimes in flocks (known as ‘trips’) (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ) of 20–80 birds, but usually of 3–6.

Insects , mostly beetles (Coleoptera) and Diptera larvae, also adult Diptera, larvae of butterflies and moths, grasshoppers, crickets, earwigs and ants, and spiders; occasionally snails, earthworms, especially in ploughed fields, and regularly some leaves, seeds, berries and flowers. In Scotland, dietary studies reveal strong dependence on sawflies (Symphyta) and Tipula montana (Diptera); although adults of latter species only commonly available every second year, larvae comprise much of diet soon after birds arrive on breeding grounds and just before leaving in autumn (11 Galbraith, H., Murray, S., Duncan, K., Smith, R., Whitfield, D.P. and Thompson, D.B.A. (1993). Diet and habitat use of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Scotland. Ibis. 135(2): 148–155. Close ). Chicks have similar diet, but consume fewer beetles, preferring soft-bodied prey (11 Galbraith, H., Murray, S., Duncan, K., Smith, R., Whitfield, D.P. and Thompson, D.B.A. (1993). Diet and habitat use of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Scotland. Ibis. 135(2): 148–155. Close ). Sometimes feeds by foot-trembling, both on bare soil and stony ground with short turf (12 Cooper, A.A. (1992). Foot-trembling behaviour of Dotterel. British Birds. 85(6): 308–309. Close ). May associate with cattle in some areas. Diurnal and nocturnal forager, primarily diurnal at southern breeding grounds. In Scotland, preferred feeding habitats are flat or gently sloping Racomitrium lanuginosum or Juncus trifidus heaths, or the transition zone between moss heath and montane bog, whereas dwarf-shrub, grass-dominated and single bog communities were avoided (11 Galbraith, H., Murray, S., Duncan, K., Smith, R., Whitfield, D.P. and Thompson, D.B.A. (1993). Diet and habitat use of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Scotland. Ibis. 135(2): 148–155. Close ).

Mostly silent in winter and not especially vocal even in summer: usual calls a soft pweet-pweet-pweet or kwip-kwip, or tinkling trills , with a trilling skeer on take-off (1 Hayman, P., J. Marchant, and T. Prater (1986). Shorebirds. An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World. Croom Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Lays mid May to early July in Scotland (mean 23 May in northern England) (10 Strowger, J. (1998). The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in northern England during 1972–95. Bird Study. 45(1): 85–91. Close ), mid May to early Jun in central Norway, and from mid June in Sweden, Finnmark and Taymyr. Seasonally monogamous, serially polyandrous (one female in Scotland paired with up to five males, but bred with just two) (13 Holt, S., Whitfield, D.P. and Gordon, J. (2002). Potential reproductive rates in the Eurasian Dotterel Charadrius morinellus. Bird Study. 49(1): 87–88. Close ) and occasionally polygynous, depending on local sex ratios. Mating can take place on arenas. Sex roles reversed. No site fidelity apparent. Solitary, but where suitable habitat is restricted breeds in loose neighbourhood groups of 2–5 pairs; nests 200 m to several km apart (polyandrous nests sited 50–600 m apart) (13 Holt, S., Whitfield, D.P. and Gordon, J. (2002). Potential reproductive rates in the Eurasian Dotterel Charadrius morinellus. Bird Study. 49(1): 87–88. Close ); density 4–6 birds/km² in north-central Siberia, maximum density 8–10 pairs/km² and 17 pairs/km² recorded in Lapland. Usually feeds outside territory on neutral grounds; non-breeding and off-duty breeding birds often roost communally at night on feeding grounds. Nest in short vegetation or on bare gravel or soil; shallow scrape, lined with moss, lichens or leaves; at least one definite record of nest reuse in consecutive years (14 Lücker, L., Kraatz, S. and Kraatz, B. (2011). Field notes on the breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in arctic Norway. Ornis Svecica. 21: 109–118. Close ). Three eggs, occasionally two, rarely four (15 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ) (mean 2.85 in northern England) (10 Strowger, J. (1998). The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in northern England during 1972–95. Bird Study. 45(1): 85–91. Close ), color buff, yellowish, greenish or reddish buff heavily blotched blackish brown, reddish brown or pale gray, mean size 44.1 mm × 28.9 mm (15 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ), laid at 30–36 hour intervals; in cases of polyandry, female produces second clutch ca. 5–11 days or more after completion of first, and sometimes a third clutch; polygynous male usually has two mates simultaneously, occasionally three, sometimes two clutches in one nest; up to two replacement clutches. Incubation 21–29 days (15 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ), starting with penultimate egg, (almost) entirely by male (which, if incubating alone, may lose up to 7.8% body weight during this period) (16 Holt, S., Whitfield, D.P., Duncan, K., Rae, S. and Smith, R.D. (2002). Mass loss in incubating Eurasian dotterel: adaptation or constraint? Journal of Avian Biology. 33(3): 219–224. Close ); in second or third clutches of polyandrous female, she participates more in incubation (at study site in E Finnish Lapland, of 32 nests in one season, females incubated at just four (17 Pulliainen, E. and Saari, L. (1997). Attendance at the nest of polyandrous Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Finland. Ardea. 85(1): 67–71. Close ), but in Arctic Norway females participated at a minimum 18 of 24 nests) (14 Lücker, L., Kraatz, S. and Kraatz, B. (2011). Field notes on the breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in arctic Norway. Ornis Svecica. 21: 109–118. Close ); chick (ca. 11 g on hatching) (18 Holt, S. and Whitfield, D.P. (2002). Timing of nest departure by broods of Dotterel Charadrius morinellus: most broods left during early to mid-morning, which may allow the small, largely exothermic chicks to emerge into a favourable thermal environment for feeding. Bird Study. 50(1): 88–90. Close ) blotched cinnamon, white and black , with off-white nape, broad supercilium and underparts ; usually tended by male, although female recently observed leading chicks outside nest and also known to defend chicks when still in nest against her own mate (14 Lücker, L., Kraatz, S. and Kraatz, B. (2011). Field notes on the breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in arctic Norway. Ornis Svecica. 21: 109–118. Close ); fledging 19–30 days (15 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ); young leave nest morning to afternoon (18 Holt, S. and Whitfield, D.P. (2002). Timing of nest departure by broods of Dotterel Charadrius morinellus: most broods left during early to mid-morning, which may allow the small, largely exothermic chicks to emerge into a favourable thermal environment for feeding. Bird Study. 50(1): 88–90. Close ), probably stay with male parent during migration and for some time in winter quarters. First breeding usually at two years old, but some may breed in first summer (2 Chandler, R. (2009). Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere. Christopher Helm, London. Close ). Breeding success: 162 fledglings per 427 breeding birds in northern Scotland; hatching success 81% in Lapland; fledging success 72%; 1.45 chicks hatched and 1.07 chicks fledged per clutch from small sample in northern England (10 Strowger, J. (1998). The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in northern England during 1972–95. Bird Study. 45(1): 85–91. Close ). Important causes of failure are severe weather, especially sleet, snow and heavy rain, and predation, e.g. by Common Raven (Corvus corax) and mustelids in Scotland (18 Holt, S. and Whitfield, D.P. (2002). Timing of nest departure by broods of Dotterel Charadrius morinellus: most broods left during early to mid-morning, which may allow the small, largely exothermic chicks to emerge into a favourable thermal environment for feeding. Bird Study. 50(1): 88–90. Close ). Incubation attendance almost certainly factor in relative effects of some causes of failure as, for instance, at Finnish locality a nest where both sexes incubated was unoccupied on just 3.8% of visits, a successful nest incubated only by male for 10.1%, but an unsuccessful nest at which only a male incubated was unoccupied during 23% of visits (17 Pulliainen, E. and Saari, L. (1997). Attendance at the nest of polyandrous Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Finland. Ardea. 85(1): 67–71. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). However, predicted climate change now presents a potentially catastrophic threat to the species, as this and many other boreal landbirds are wholly dependent on ecological conditions currently prevailing in northern Eurasia (19 Virkkala, R., Heikkinen, R.K., Leikola, N. and Luoto, M. (2008). Projected large-scale range reductions of northern-boreal land bird species due to climate change. Biological Conservation. 141(5): 1343–1353. Close ). Total breeding population in Europe estimated at 36,500 breeding pairs, with 28,000 in Norway (1981), 7,500 in Sweden (1984), 800 in Finland (1986) and 510–750 pairs in Britain (1999) (20 Whitfield, D.P. (2002). Status of breeding Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Britain in 1999. Bird Study. 49(3): 237–249. Close ), but declining to ca. 423 breeding males in 2011 (21 Hayhow, D.B., Ewing, S.R., Baxter, A., Douse, A., Stanbury, A., Whitfield, D.P. and Eaton, M.A. (2015). Changes in the abundance and distribution of a montane specialist bird, the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus, in the UK over 25 years. Bird Study. 62(4): 443–456. Close ), and species has appeared incapable of truly colonizing northern England as a breeding bird, despite availability of seemingly suitable habitat, presumably due to number of sheep, degree of recreational use and increasing acidification of soils (10 Strowger, J. (1998). The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in northern England during 1972–95. Bird Study. 45(1): 85–91. Close ); two breeding records in Switzerland (1965 and 1998), with occasional records also in Italian (recently) and German Alps (only in 19th century) (22 Meier-Zwicky, C. (1999). Zweiter Schweizer Brutnachweis des Mornellregenpfeifers Charadrius morinellus L. in Graubünden [Second breeding record of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Switzerland]. Orn. Beob.. 96(1): 62–63. Close , 23 Gedeon, K., C. Grüneberg, A. Mitschke, C. Sudfeldt, W. Eikhorst, S. Fischer, M. Flade, S. Frick, I. Geiersberger, B. Koop, M. Kramer, T. Krüger, N. Roth, T. Ryslavy, S. Stübing, S. R. Sudmann, S. Steffens, F. Vökler, and K. Witt (2014). Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten [Atlas of German Breeding Birds]. Stiftung Vogelmonitoring Deutschland und Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten, Münster, Germany. Close ); in Asia, numbers very poorly known, 10,000–100,000 birds, but seems rare in parts of northern Siberia (24 Arkhipov, V.Y., Noah, T., Koschkar, S. and Kondrashov, F.A. (2013). Birds of Mys Shmidta, north Chukotka, Russia. Forktail. 29: 25–30. Close ). No evidence of decline in parts of Norway and Sweden during late 1960s to early 2000s (25 Svensson, S. (2006). Species composition and population fluctuations of alpine bird communities during 38 years in the Scandinavian mountain range. Orn. Svecica. 16: 183–210. Close ). In 19th century bred in Poland and Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Finland, significant decline in 1940s and since 1970s; cause for recent decline might be heavy persecution in northern Africa; amelioration of climate in breeding area may also be significant factor. Wintering populations poorly known: scarce in Jordan (26 Andrews, I.J., Khoury, F. and Shirihai, H. (1999). Jordan Bird Report 1995–97. Sandgrouse 21(1):10–35. Close ), considerably more regular in Tunisia (though large flocks uncommon) (27 Grussu, M., G. Conca, A. Corso, and H. Dlensi (2006). Observations hivernales notables d’oiseaux en Tunisie. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 13(2):167–169. Close ) and Morocco, but numbers in latter country have decreased markedly since 1960s and 1970s, when regularly placed at ca. 5,000 birds with an exceptional ca. 20,000 in 1963/64 (28 Thévenot, M., R. Vernon, and P. Bergier (2003). The Birds of Morocco: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 20. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ). Numbers declined in Britain in late 19th century due to hunting and egg-collecting.